The U.S. economy has been steadily adding jobs since the start of 2010, but nowhere near the rate at which jobs were lost over the two years prior.

A graph distributed through a release issued by the White House Press Secretary illustrates this concept concisely.

"The economy has now added private sector jobs for 34 straight months, and a total of 5.8 million jobs have been added over that period," said Alan Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, in a statement. "While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression."